Restoration Work Begins On Brazil's Christ The Redeemer

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - FEBRUARY 14: A worker is perched on the shoulder of the Christ the Redeemer statue during a media tour following a ceremony blessing the workers by the Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Dom Orani Tempesta, on February 14, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue was damaged by multiple lightning strikes recently and crews are beginning to repair the damage while adding more lightning rods to the famed statue. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)2014 Getty Images

Rio de Janeiro – A team of specialists began working Friday to restore the mountaintop statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's most iconic monument, which was damaged last month by a lightning strike.

The Rio Archdiocese, owner of the statue, entrusted the work to a group of rappelling mountain-climbers to avoid the use of scaffolds, so as not to suspend visits while repairs are underway.

The work begun today is expected to take four months and will focus on the hands and head of the statue. Plans also include expanding the area covered by lightning rods and overhauling the monument's electric and hydraulic systems.

Private firms are helping the archdiocese defray the cost of the repairs, about 2 million reais ($833,000).

Christ the Redeemer, elected as one of the seven wonders of the world in a 2007 online poll, was struck by lightning last January that damaged the third finger of the right hand.

The statue, created in 1931, is visited every year by some 700,000 tourists.